


the one where Woojin kind of absolutely wasn't expecting this

by Iris_Duncan_72



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Famous, First Meetings, Fluff, Kisses, Multi, Party, cameos of other idols, oh I also messed with their ages a bit roll with it, they don't all actually put in an appearance woops
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-08
Updated: 2018-12-08
Packaged: 2019-09-02 16:26:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16790509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iris_Duncan_72/pseuds/Iris_Duncan_72
Summary: It was about three hours into the party that Woojin went from kind of wishing he’d stayed home tonight to actively regretting every life choice that had led him to this moment.





	the one where Woojin kind of absolutely wasn't expecting this

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first story I have Ever finished I actually can't believe I've lived long enough to see this happen
> 
> Gods bless all my Twitter moots for helping me get here, whether or not they are aware of their contributions uwu
> 
> ALSO BIG PROPS TO JULIA FOR PROOFREADING THIS RIGHT AT THE LAST MINUTE
> 
> And now - on with the story~!

It was about three hours into the party that Woojin went from kind of wishing he’d stayed home tonight to actively regretting every life choice that had led him to this moment.

Exam season had just finished, it was a Friday, and Changbin’s parents had left him with the run of the house while they went on a week-long business trip in Thailand. The Seo house was huge, which meant it was perfect for parties, and even though Changbin really wasn’t all that keen on inviting fifty-odd people around to get drunk and do stupid things to loud music, Minho had this magical way of convincing him to do it anyway. Woojin really wasn’t sure how that worked, especially since the two swore up and down that they weren’t a couple – which didn’t necessarily mean much, but Changbin was also ace. At some point or another, however, Woojin had decided the nuances of their relationship were their business, not his, and left it at that.

All of this meant that, at half past seven, the evening air pleasantly cool on his skin, Woojin was parking his slightly run-down, faded blue car that screamed I-am-a-university-student on Changbin’s driveway, Minho in the passenger seat, Hyunjin and several crates of alcohol and pizza in the back. They unloaded everything, all three still singing along to the SHINee song that’d last been playing, Woojin locked the car, and they made their way up to the house.

‘What’s up, gays!’ Minho yelled as soon as he shouldered open the door and they’d trooped in behind him. ‘We’ve got pizza!’

Assorted cries of welcome could be heard from further within the house, but Woojin ignored them in favour of making a beeline for the kitchen immediately after kicking off his shoes to stick the drinks in the fridge. Hyunjin followed him, still cheerfully humming, and deposited the small tower of pizza boxes he was carrying on the marble-topped island.

‘Hyung, can you grab the plates?’ he asked, opening the boxes one by one and spreading them out, the profusion of metal in his ears tinkling slightly as he did so.

‘Sure,’ Woojin replied, pulling a stack of them from one of the cupboards; it wouldn’t do to make a mess of the place.

‘I’m not gay,’ Jisung said by way of greeting as he walked into the kitchen, his eyes lighting up at the sight of all the food.

Minho was right behind him and he was rolling his eyes. ‘Sure you’re not, Sungie. The fact that you have a boyfriend means nothing.’

‘Being gay implies being homosexual and homoromantic,’ Jisung retorted, a plate piled high with pizza already in his hands. ‘I’m homosexual and _pan_ romantic.’

‘Last week you literally said you were bisexual, though,’ Hyunjin frowned around a mouthful of greasy goodness.

Woojin failed to stifle his snort and Minho cackled.

Jisung pouted, giving Hyunjin a betrayed look, and when Chan walked in a moment later, he flung himself against the older boy, whining, ‘Hyuuuuuuung, they’re being meeeean to meeeee...’

Chan, having been Jisung’s significant other for nearly three years now, was well used to his boyfriend’s dramatics, and simply patted the other boy on the back, his arms having automatically lifted to catch him. ‘Uh huh, sure thing, sweetheart, they’ll probably choke on their pizza in karmic retribution,’ he said distractedly, attention already narrowing in on Minho. ‘Changbin needs distracting, the sound system has been acting up and he’s grumpy, can you –?’

Minho gave an exaggerated wink, hopping up off the bar stool he’d perched on, plate in hand. ‘I can absolutely distract him.’

To a chorus of low groans, he sashayed out of the room. Woojin rolled his eyes but focused when Chan turned to him next.

‘It’s still all good for me to use your car, right?’ the curly-haired boy was saying, absent-mindedly stroking Jisung’s hair to make the younger hum happily. ‘Felix is on an earlier train than he expected, I’ll need to go pick him up in a bit.’

Woojin’s memory momentarily failed him, but then he recalled that he’d offered his car’s services so Chan could collect his Australian friend who’d moved over to South Korea only several days ago to attend the university they were all at. The boy was sharing a dorm room on campus with Seungmin, who wasn’t in attendance tonight because he and Jeongin had left at the crack of dawn to spend a week with Jeongin’s grandparents out in the countryside. This would be Felix’s first time meeting most of Chan’s circle of friends, Woojin included.

‘That’s fine,’ he nodded. ‘Come get the key off me when you want to go.’

‘Thanks,’ Chan said, cheeks dimpling as he smiled. ‘My car should finally be back from the mechanic tomorrow.’

‘Are you sure Felix coming tonight is a good idea, hyung?’ Hyunjin asked, playing with his lip ring as he watched Chan bully Jisung onto one of the stools so he could lean against the younger’s back and steal bites of his pizza. ‘Out of everyone here, he only knows you and Jisung, and you know it’s going to get wild tonight.’

Chan sighed with what struck Woojin as slightly amused exasperation. ‘You don’t think I haven’t told him that? His Korean isn’t that great either, so he’s going to have some difficulty with conversations. Still, he’s sociable and he loves dancing –’ Hyunjin perked up – ‘I guess it’s as good a way as any to introduce you all. It won’t be long before everyone here is drunk off their faces, anyway, so talking probably won’t be a big priority.’

‘He’s got nearly as many pretty piercings as you and Changbinnie-hyung,’ Jisung interjected briefly, the comment aimed at Hyunjin, before taking an enormous bite out of his pizza slice.

‘But,’ Chan continued, glancing around at them, a trace of concern faintly creasing his brow, ‘if you guys could keep half an eye out for him, I’d appreciate it. I will too, obviously, but I’m not going to be around him all night. I just don’t want him to get overwhelmed or anything.’

Woojin and Hyunjin both murmured their assent and then they all jumped as heavy bass suddenly boomed through the house.

‘The speakers still work, then,’ Woojin said, looking towards the door.

Jisung mimicked Minho’s wink. ‘Bet someone provided a good incentive...’

And because they had the maturity of twelve year olds, they all snickered.

An hour later, people started arriving.

The usual cohort of miscreants was first. Woojin heard them long before he saw them, the rumbling of Mark’s truck unmistakeable; his little car might be tired and old, but that truck probably should have died at least seventy years ago. The fact that it was regularly jammed with seven lanky young men meant it _definitely_ should have turned up its toes a while back. He was currently on the veranda out the back of the house, standing on a deck chair and hanging up the final string of blue fairy lights. It didn’t take long for two of the new arrivals to find him.

‘Hi, Woojin-hyung!’ a pair of familiar voice chorused behind him, the sound of quick footsteps on the deck.

Woojin turned, several loops of plastic-covered wire held carefully in one hand. He twinkled a smile at the colourful boys behind him.

‘Pink looks good on you, Jaemin,’ he said by way of return greeting, admiring the gangly boy’s newly cherry blossom hair.

‘Thanks!’ Jaemin chirped, sunshine grin overtaking his face. He slung an arm around the shoulders of his broader companion. ‘Jeno helped me do it, but he wouldn’t let me do his hair, ‘cos he’s a chicken.’

Jeno, his hair very black, rolled his eyes. ‘Not all of us like looking like candyfloss, Nana.’

Woojin, his own hair likewise untouched by colour, shared an amused look with the dark-haired boy, before asking, ‘How’s Donghyuck? Is he still sick?’

‘Nah,’ Jaemin replied, as Woojin continued stringing up the lights. ‘He swore he’d be well enough for tonight and he managed it, somehow.’

Jeno snorted, fiddling with the single strap of Jaemin’s faded blue dungarees until the blossom-haired boy swatted him in irritation. ‘He’s had to let Mark mother the fuck out of him for the past couple of days, else Mark said he’d tie him to his bed.’

Woojin laughed, hopping down from his perch after the final loop went up. ‘I’m surprised Hyuck didn’t do that to Mark in retaliation,’ he said, flicking on the little switch for the fairy lights, to the cheers of the younger boys when the whole deck glowed with soft blue light.

After that, they all returned inside, the volume of everything immediately doubling. Jaemin and Jeno bid goodbye to Woojin when they reached the entrance to the main living room, where music was booming and most of the house’s occupants were. Inside, Changbin and Jisung were talking loudly to Mark about 3RACHA’s latest track, _Zone_ , which was currently blasting out of the speakers, while Minho and Renjun playfully harassed Chenle – sporting new, alarmingly bright green hair – and Jisung-the-younger(-and-taller). Woojin waved to them as he continued on to the kitchen, ready to crack open a drink. There he found Hyunjin and Donghyuck comparing eyebrow piercings – Hyunjin’s was fairly new – over rum-and-cokes.

Woojin barely had time to say hello before the doorbell was ringing, the door was opening, and a new wave of people were pouring in, shouting far too excitedly to one another for this early in the evening. As Changbin had clearly already given up on any pretence of being a good host and Chan had left nearly half an hour ago, Woojin sighed silently and went out into the entrance room – the Seo family house was _big_ – to greet the newcomers.

By the time Chan and Felix-the-Australian-friend got back, the party was in full swing and everyone had arrived. Woojin was finally off door duty, now nursing a bottled mix of vodka and some sort of ubiquitous lemon-flavoured fizzy while he stood with Youngjae and Minhyuk, occasionally chipping in to their animated conversation about dream holiday destinations.

‘Look, I’m just saying that the south of France has beaches _and_ lots of fancy clothes –’ Youngjae was explaining when Minhyuk abruptly interrupted him, eyes on someone behind Woojin as he interjected, ‘Who’s the cute new guy?’

The other two automatically turned and Woojin saw Chan just inside the room, already dimpling as BamBam and Yugyeom pounced on him to say hello. The person next to Chan, hovering slightly uncertainly, could only be Felix-the-Australian-friend and the unknown newcomer Minhyuk was talking about. Woojin had to agree he was attractive – from halfway across the room, he could see Felix’s bright orange-gold hair, a profusion of silver in his ears, and the end of a tattoo of some sort trailing out from under the sleeve of his large white t-shirt.

Youngjae made a sympathetic noise. ‘Poor kid looks like needs rescuing already.’

Woojin hummed in agreement. ‘His name’s Felix and he only knows Chan and Jisung. He’s from Australia too, exchanging to our university.’

Minhyuk immediately cooed at the prospect of another foreigner to baby and coach in the ways of the Korean youth, but Woojin didn’t hear what he said because Felix’s wandering gaze had just collided with his. The younger boy (Chan had said he was a first year to their fourth) blinked, clearly surprised when Woojin didn’t immediately look away. Then, instead of awkwardly dropping his own gaze or shrinking beneath Woojin’s obviously interested stare, Felix offered a sunny smile.

‘Holy shit.’

Minhyuk giggled. ‘That was fast, Woojin-ah.’

Woojin blinked several times, quickly looking between at his friends, who were grinning devilishly at him. ‘What? Oh. I said that out loud.’

Youngjae let out a bright peal of laughter, while Minhyuk said, ‘You sure did.’ He not-so-gently pushed Woojin in Felix’s direction. ‘Go say hi then, we’ll be fine here by ourselves.’

Woojin rolled his eyes. ‘Real subtle, hyung, _real_ subtle.’

‘Doing better than you,’ the honey-haired boy retorted, elbowing him. ‘Go on.’

Woojin glanced back over. Felix wasn’t looking at him anymore, busy being introduced to BamBam and Yugyeom. He saw BamBam dab and Felix immediately return the move, making Chan facepalm and Woojin want to laugh.

Before either of the two young men next to him could shove him again, he shrugged; he had to get his keys off Chan sometime. ‘Catch you guys later then.’

‘Have fun!’ Youngjae called after him in a singsong voice.

Woojin didn’t deign that with a response. Chan grinned when he saw the barely-older boy approaching and Felix’s eyes – carefully outlined in eyeliner, a pair of studs glinting from one brow – widened.

‘Hey, cheers for the car,’ Chan said happily, tossing over the little silver keys.

Catching and pocketing them in one smooth move, Woojin replied, ‘No problem. Hi, Gyeom-ah, I see you’ve grown at least another inch since I last saw you.’

Yugyeom beamed proudly. ‘I’m six foot now!’

‘Of course you are,’ Woojin sighed despairingly. ‘BamBam-ah, you’re looking as stylish as ever.’

‘Someone has to,’ the bleached-blond boy sniffed, adjusting the collar of his silky red shirt that probably cost more than everything Woojin was wearing put together. ‘You’re not even _trying_ ,’ he lamented, gesturing as Chan, who was dressed very casually in a pair of faded jeans and a black t-shirt.

Felix self-consciously glanced down at his own outfit. He was in a t-shirt plain but for a large block of magenta in the centre, scrawled through with illegible English letters, black skinnies, and a soft grey hoodie tied about his waist. This did not go unmissed by Woojin or, apparently, BamBam, because the younger immediately reached out to brush a light touch over the new boy’s arm, soothing, ‘You’re fine, Felix, you’re new to these parts and besides, yours is better than _that_.’ He curled his lip in playful disgust at Chan, who simply laughed.

‘Hey, hey,’ Yugyeom suddenly exclaimed, wiggling on the spot and looking over them all into the shadowy mass of people. ‘I see Rocky and Moonbin, we need to say hi to them before Binnie gets drunk.’

‘Oh, shoot, yeah, we haven’t seen them in ages,’ BamBam agreed, following his friend’s line of sight.

He turned to the other three, a bright smile on his tan face, but before he could say anything, Chan heaved a faux mournful sigh, saying, ‘Yeah, yeah, off you go then, abandon us without a second thought.’

Felix joined in the brief laughter at Chan’s ridiculously exaggerated pout and Woojin zeroed in on the sound, smooth and unexpectedly low.

‘Yah, we’ll see you later, don’t make that dumb face,’ BamBam giggled.

‘Yeah, catch you guys later! And if you ever want a dance partner, come find me,’ Yugyeom grinned at Felix, who returned the smile – it was even brighter up close, good god – and nodded, before the elegantly lanky pair turned tail and disappeared in pursuit of Moonbin and Rocky.

Woojin turned to Felix. ‘You must be Felix, then,’ he said, patented Soft Smile™ very much present.

The boy’s smile was a little shyer now but he nodded, eyes sparkling. When he went to say something, however, Chan slung an arm around Felix’s shoulders and interjected cheerfully, ‘Ah, I’m being a bad host, aren’t I? Lix, this is one of my _best_ friends, Woojin, fourth year student like me and majoring in how to sing like a chart-topping idol.’

Woojin flushed lightly, both out of embarrassment and pride. Felix giggled at the automatic pout on Woojin’s face, but then blushed at the sound, ducking his head. The elder two took care not to mention it, not wanting to make him uncomfortable.

With a sigh of fond exasperation, Woojin said, ‘Chan here likes to exaggerate, as you might know. I’m just a vocal major. What are –’

‘ _Just?_ ’ Chan interrupted, still clinging to Felix but leaning forward incredulously. He turned to the slightly alarmed, mostly amused boy next to him. ‘Don’t listen to him, seriously. He sings like an angel. We’ve gotten to him to sing for us several times.’

Felix visibly perked up. ‘For 3RACHA?’ he asked, the depth of his voice at odds with his lovely face.

‘Backing vocals,’ Woojin said quickly. ‘It’s not that much, really.’

Chan made a distressed sound. ‘Woojin. Please. Stop putting yourself down.’

‘Sure, as soon as you stop embellishing everything,’ Woojin retorted, before turning back to Felix and determinedly saying over the top of his friend’s feeble protests, ‘Now, Felix-ah, tell me what you’ve come here to study.’

‘Oh, um –’ Felix glanced, seemingly instinctively, at Chan, who gave him an encouraging nod. ‘I’m doing a performance degree, majoring in dance.’

Woojin hummed in thoughtful surprise. ‘Oh, good on you. We know a few people doing dance. You’ll meet some of the tonight, probably, and if you don’t, we can always introduce you later.’

An excited smile unfurled across Felix’s tan face, the beautiful expression stabbing Woojin right through the heart. ‘That would be awesome, hyung!’ he exclaimed, before immediately pulling up short, uncertainty wiping the delighted look from his face. ‘Ah, um, can I call you that...?’

Waving his concern right out the window, Woojin grinned at him. ‘Of course, of course, don’t worry about it. Everyone’s pretty familiar here, no one will mind if you call them hyung or noona.’

He was glad this was, in fact, the truth, because relief swept over Felix immediately, his shoulders sagging slightly. Woojin supposed that to someone coming from a place as laidback as he’d heard Australia was, Korean standards of formality and politeness would be a little daunting.

Before anything more could be said, a shattering sound was heard from somewhere in the depths of the lounge.

Will to live visibly draining from his eyes, Chan groaned. ‘Already? Really?’ He pursed his lips, glancing at the other two. ‘Woojin, are you all good to –?’

‘We’ll be fine, Chan,' Woojin said with a nod. 'Go make sure nobody was hurt. It was probably just a bottle, we moved all the fragile things upstairs, remember?’

His friend sighed, raking a hand through his curly hair. ‘True, true. Okay, I’ll see you guys around.’ He said something in English much too fast for Woojin to even attempt to understand.

‘Don’t worry about me, hyung,’ Felix smiled, looking much more relaxed than Chan. The phrase sounded more fluid than anything else he’d said thus far, and Woojin wondered how often he’d already had to use it.

Chan sighed again. ‘Right, yeah. I swear to god if anyone’s been trying to juggle bottles again...’ His muttered rant trailed off as he disappeared into the crowd, forging a path with his broad shoulders and determined stride.

Woojin turned to Felix with a smile. ‘Come on,’ he said. ‘Let’s go find Hyunjin, shall we? He’ll be keen to meet a fellow dance first year.’

‘Oh?’ Felix asked, leaning closer interestedly as they started off around the edge of the room. ‘Hyunjin-ssi will be starting dance this year? Chan-hyung mentioned one of his friends doing that, and that someone else is already part way through.’ The words were a little slow, a touch awkward, the sounds clearly not sitting quite right on his tongue, but still perfectly understandable.

Hands tucked comfortably in his pockets as he scanned the crowd, the pair of them having come to a pause near the veranda doors, Woojin nodded. He took care to speak clearly as he replied, ‘Yeah, he’s really good at it. It was a toss-up between that and interior design, but he picked dance. Minho will be the someone else Chan was talking about, he’s in his third year. You’ll probably run into him tonight sometime.’

Big brown eyes still on the elder, Felix said, ‘Oh, that would be cool. Um, I know Seungmin is going into law but, uh, I forgot what Jisung will be studying.’

‘Jisungie? Ah, he’ll be doing music, focusing on composition and production, like Chan and Changbin.’

‘Changbin-ssi is Spear B, right? Of 3RACHA?’ Felix’s tone was faintly awed.

Woojin chuckled. If Binnie were here, he’d probably be blushing red as a tomato. ‘Yeah, that’s right. He’s on DJ duty tonight.’

‘Oh!’ Felix immediately looked toward the back of the room where the massive speakers had been set up, but, in the dim light and with many people between them, was obviously unable to see much.

‘Hyunjin!’ Woojin suddenly called, spotting the gangly boy emerging from the crowd, giggling brightly with a kid Woojin recognised but could not immediately pin a name too.

‘Hyung!’ Hyunjin replied cheerfully, waving goodbye to his companion – Daeho? Dino? – and bouncing over, piercings all a-glitter. He gave Felix a friendly smile, eyes wide and curious.

‘Jinnie, this is Felix –’

‘Ah, Australia, yes?’ the tall boy interrupted, beaming at Felix, his English thickly accented.

Felix looked a little thunderstruck. This was an understandable, standard reaction to Hyunjin’s eye smile, especially when seeing it for the first time. Woojin was pleased to note Felix had the good taste to look like he was tiny bit in love – anyone who wasn’t a tiny bit in love with Hwang Hyunjin was either a liar not to be trusted because they were so deep in denial they’d probably tell you the sky was yellow.

‘Yes,’ Felix said in English, before switching to Korean, ‘I’m from Australia. Nice to meet you, Hyunjin-ssi.’

His smile was, impossibly, equally blinding, and Woojin was honestly starting to feel a little attacked by all the sunshine being thrown around. Hyunjin, he was amused to see, melted like butter.

‘Oh, don’t call me that,’ the black-haired boy protested immediately, flapping a hand and scrunching his nose. ‘You’re a first year, right? I’m born in March, what about you?’

Felix blinked, clearly taking a moment to translate Hyunjin’s quick questions. ‘My birthday is in September,’ he replied carefully.

Before he could add anything more, Hyunjin grinned again, lip ring catching the light, and said, ‘Same as Jisungie, cool! We can be same age friends!’

‘Really?’ Felix looked surprised, glancing, oddly enough, to Woojin, as though for confirmation. The older boy gave him a reassuring smile.

‘Yeah, yeah, it’s fine,’ Hyunjin enthused. ‘Channie-hyung said you are studying dance?’

Felix nodded, and Woojin felt a twinge of relief that the boy seemed to have got his feet under him again, head held high and eyes bright.

‘You might be in my classes then,’ the gangly boy chirped. ‘Or one of my friends’, there are a few people starting next semester. Do you want to meet them? They’re all around here somewhere.’

‘That would be cool,’ Felix said cheerfully, but then hesitated, looking to Woojin again. ‘Woojin-hyung, are you – can we – I mean –’

Woojin laughed gently. ‘Don’t worry about me, Felix-ah. I’m sure we’ll see each other later.’

Felix’s lower lip pushed out as he worried the hidden end of his labret stud but after another moment of indecision he smiled again and nodded. ‘Okay.’

Hyunjin cheered and Felix said, ‘See you later, Woojin-hyung.’

‘Yeah, bye, hyung,’ the dark-haired boy grinned, a smug twinkle in his eye as he laid a brief hand on Felix’s forearm to shepherd the younger along. ‘Oh, Dino-hyung was saying Jihoon-hyung wants to talk to you about a duet or something? You should go find him!’

With that, the two dance students disappeared into the crowd.

Woojin sighed, absently watching after them for a moment; he’d see Felix again, even if not necessarily tonight. That didn’t stop him feeling just a little... sulky that Hyunjin had whisked the bright-haired boy away.

 _Pull yourself together_ , he grumbled to himself. _You’ve known him less than half an hour, jeez..._

Woojin forcibly turned his mind to Hyunjin’s parting words. He was a little surprised Jihoon had come tonight, but then again, with friends like Seokmin and Mingyu, the barely older boy might not have had much of a say in the matter. Woojin would seek him out and find out about this duet business.

But first, he was going to see if there was any fried chicken left.

An hour later saw Woojin sat on a couch that had been manhandled onto the deck that afternoon, Jihoon having left not long ago. The blunt, deceptively-fairy-featured young producer had been accompanying his rather taller, rather inebriated boyfriend, Seungcheol, to one of the bathrooms to clean himself up, after the pouting man had managed to spill an entire rum-and-Coke down his shirt. Woojin had snickered under his breath as Jihoon had his hissed threats at Seungcheol to get him to walk under his own steam, given the former was nowhere near strong enough to be carrying him. Jihoon had glared at Woojin for his surreptitious giggles, but had fortunately been too preoccupied to give the marginally younger man a verbal lashing.

Jihoon’s seat had almost immediately been taken by Minho, the dancer armed with a clear bottle of something alarmingly colourful. Happily, Minho’s attention was elsewhere because so too was Woojin’s – across the veranda, seated in a trio of deck chairs, were Hyunjin, his girlfriend Lisa, and Felix, the latter positioned so that he happened to be facing Woojin.

Woojin glanced across at Felix, slightly surprised to find the other boy’s gaze already on him, given that he was engaged in conversation. His eyes were wide and soft. In a knee-jerk reaction to having been caught looking, the elder boy instinctively flicked his gaze away again. He knew what Felix’s look meant, but he wondered if the younger was aware of just how inviting it was. To be fair, it was probably the same look hiding just under Woojin’s skin. He turned his gaze back over at Felix, only to find the orange-haired boy’s head was ducked slightly, his gaze lowered and lips pursed.

Oh. Perhaps he’d taken Woojin’s shift of focus from him as a deeper repudiation. Shit. Woojin probably should have thought that through a little more, but he’d panicked, okay? He would make amends, though.

So Woojin settled himself more comfortably on the couch, his thigh lightly pressed against Minho’s, who was still paying him precisely zero attention, instead engaged in a lively chat with Jennie on his other side. Woojin relaxed his expression, hoping the polite, get-off-me-you’re-drunk mask was off, and then he just stared at Felix. Stared at him and waited for him to notice. It took longer than he anticipated – at least three or four minutes – but finally the foreign boy’s eyes flicked up to his face, darting away and back again in a double-take. Woojin offered a slight smile, letting his interest show as his focus flitted between Felix’s profusion of freckles, the glinting silver of his piercings, and his pretty eyes. Woojin thought he saw the boy flush a little, but the dim light made it hard to tell. Felix’s mouth softened into a pleased smile and, when he saw he had the elder’s attention, he met his gaze head on, no longer looking up through his lashes.

It was just then, of course, that Lisa turned to Felix, drawing his attention away as she asked him something. Woojin decided he was going to need another drink and eased himself out of his spot. Minho didn’t turn away from his own conversation, but he brushed his fingertips over the elder’s knee in goodbye. Woojin responded with a fleeting touch to his shoulder before turning and going back inside towards the kitchen. He let an involuntary sigh as he walked up the hall. Escaping from the pounding bass was nice, even if just for a little bit. It’d been a while since he’d last been to a party and his head wasn’t too impressed with the excessive noise, which made him absently wonder with a touch of dread if this was what it was like to get old.

The kitchen was largely empty, a trio of girls giggling and shoving one another in the corner as they shared a bottle of red wine. Only one of them seemed to notice him and she gave him a cheery little wave. That was Seulgi, one of the more strikingly beautiful of his classmates in their shared vocal class. He returned her wave with a smile before hauling open the fridge and retrieving something fruity and sweet. As he leant against the counter, far enough away from the girls that he didn’t feel like he was intruding – not that they were paying any attention to him anyway – he recalled the circumstances leading to the camaraderie he and Seulgi had formed, perhaps six months ago. At the end of one of their classes, both had been ambushed by blushing students confessing heretofore hidden attractions. What had made the entire debacle incredibly uncomfortable for all parties involved, however, was the fact that Woojin and Seulgi were both, as Chan would say, raging homosexuals and subsequently had no interest whatsoever in their confessors. Somehow, the nightmarish experience had ended with the pair of them in the bar nearest to campus, exchanging stories of similarly awkward events over gin and tonics.

Woojin’s musing was interrupted as he noticed a slightly tentative Felix arriving in the doorway, his gaze appraising the girls momentarily before he caught sight of Woojin and brightened. Seulgi and her friends didn’t even look up as Felix passed them, now practically incoherent as they wheezed over their wine.

‘Hey Felix,’ Woojin said easily, his bottle held loosely in one hand. ‘You looking for something to drink?’

Felix blinked at him, looking very much like he was making a split-second decision. Then he smiled and nodded. ‘Hyunjin said you’d be able to help me with that.’

Woojin raised a brow, wondering what else Hyunjin may or may not have said. ‘Oh? Well, I’ll certainly do my best. We’ve got about every type of fizzy you like and plenty of alcohol left, though most of the good stuff is gone.’

Felix tucked his hands in the pockets of his skinny jeans, nose wrinkling cutely. ‘No alcohol, thanks. Do you have Coke?’

Woojin inclined his head, setting whatever the hell his drink was on the bench as he crouched to open the larger of the two ice chests by the fridge. It was full of fizzy drinks and juice, for all the sober drivers, non-drinkers, and those who’d had a bit too much of the strong stuff. He plucked out one of the many bottles of Coke and handed it over.

‘Thanks, Woojin-hyung,’ Felix said, looking slightly shy as he cracked the bottle open.

The foreign boy tilted his head back to drink and Woojin dropped his gaze the second he realised he was staring at the movement of Felix’s throat as he swallowed. Dear gods above, what was _wrong_ with him. He’d known the kid barely two hours and, yeah, okay, maybe they’d kind of been making eyes at each other on the deck but Woojin was half-convinced that Felix was just being super friendly. Maybe that was normal in Australia, who was he to say.

Clearing his throat slightly, Woojin asked, ‘How did the introductions with Hyunjin go? You’ve met Lisa, I saw.’

Felix beamed, eyes suddenly sparkling. ‘Yeah, she’s really nice. Hyunjin’s friends were all pretty cool. I can’t wait to dance with some of them next semester. It’s –’ he hesitated, tongue darting out to wet his lower lip – ‘it’s encouraging, you know? My parents were concerned about me coming over here, partly because of what I’m studying and partly because I don’t– didn’t know anyone other than Chan-hyung and Jisung. So I’m really happy everyone’s been so welcoming already.’

Woojin’s heart squeezed. He couldn’t imagine what it would take to pack up and move to a new country on your own, one which didn’t speak your native language, where you knew next to no-one, for almost any reason let alone university.

He offered Felix the warmest smile he could manage past the sudden surge of protectiveness in his chest and said, ‘I’m glad you’ve been finding the move okay. I don’t think I would’ve been able to do an exchange to a foreign country.’

The orange-haired boy leaned back against the marble-topped island behind him, drink hanging precariously from his fingertips. He observed Woojin with bright eyes, though they kept darting down and away.

‘Yeah...’ Felix took a slow breath, pursing his lips briefly. ‘Mum and Dad took some convincing. I have two older sisters and they helped me persuade them. As soon as I saw the scholarships last year, I knew this was what I wanted to do. The dance program here is _really_ good and I... I want to be a professional dancer, so I should get the best, um, what’s the word... ah, training possible, right? Chan-hyung encouraged me to apply for as many scholarships as I could, he was super supportive.’

He flushed at his momentary muddling of words, but Woojin did not tease and let it slide by without comment.

‘That sounds like Chan,’ he said, ‘always encouraging everyone to do their absolute best.’

Felix’s laughter lilted up and Woojin gulped a hasty mouthful of his drink to distract himself from how the younger’s eyes scrunched up in delight.

‘He’s pretty awesome like that. I met him when he came over to Australia about six years for one school term. He was staying with some family and went to my school. We got along really well and just... kept in touch, I guess.’

‘I remember that,’ Woojin hummed. ‘We’d been friends for about a year by then.’

‘Oh? You met in high school?’

‘Yep. First year music nerds, staying up late working on our projects.’ He chuckled at the memory. ‘His sleeping habits were pretty rubbish even back then, so I made it my job to make sure he got _some_ rest whenever I could.’

‘Have you always wanted to be a singer, then, hyung?’ Felix asked, face alive with interest.

‘Ah, well, for a while.’ Woojin felt a touch embarrassed, massaging the back of his neck awkwardly ‘til he forced himself to lower his hand again. ‘It was just a dream until I was about fourteen. Then I entered this competition and did really well in it, somehow ended up in the final round, performing on a stage in front of four thousand people.’

‘Wow, that’s so cool,’ Felix muttered, eyebrows shooting skyward.

Woojin nodded. ‘Yeah, it felt pretty incredible, even though I came in second place. My aunt is a professional vocal trainer, and she came to see me after the competition. She treated me like I was one of her singers, worked with me for a whole weekend, teaching me techniques for everything she could. Mum and Dad weren’t too hard to convince to let me pursue singing after that.’

Felix was playing with his labret again as he listened. He nodded his head absent-mindedly when the elder fell silent, saying, ‘My parents... wanted me to stay in Australia and to study something else. Rachel and Olivia, my sisters, they got Mum and Dad to get a scholarship – ah, no, I mean, to agree that if _I_ got a scholarship for dance, I’d be allowed to go. I managed to get a partial one and, um, here I am.’

He went shy suddenly, cheeks colouring, focus fixed on his bottle, and Woojin had to resist the urge to reach out and gently run the backs of his knuckles across Felix’s soft skin.

‘You must be very good, then,’ he commented, and Felix blushed harder. When the younger began to protest, Woojin overrode him, saying, ‘No, really. Scholarships are difficult to get.’

Felix was quiet for a moment, before he looked up, meeting Woojin’s gaze. ‘Thanks,’ he said, soft and sincere.

‘You’re welcome,’ the older boy grinned, eyes curving up into crescents.

Just then, the music changed to something Woojin couldn’t immediately name but which he’d heard on the radio a lot recently. Over in the corner, Seulgi and her friends started shrieking with enthusiasm and tottered out of the kitchen to the lounge. Felix, too, perked up suddenly, nearly vibrating with excitement as he watched the girls leave.

He turned back to Woojin, eyes a-sparkle, and the latter knew exactly what he was about to be asked.

‘Hyung, will you come dance with me?’ He bit his lip, hesitating before blurting, ‘I, um, I don’t want to go by myself.’

Well. Woojin could hardly turn down an invitation like that, now, could he? The fact that Felix’s pout was more potent than Jisung’s (perhaps, dare he think it, on par with Jeongin’s) had absolutely nothing to do with it.

So he set down his bottle and said, ‘Sure. Now that I’ve heard all about your talents, I’m expecting to be wowed.’

He giggled at the look of slight alarm that flickered across Felix’s face, ensuring the younger could see he was joking. Then, because Felix seemed to be a tactile person, Woojin held out a hand for him to take.

‘Come on, then,’ he grinned. ‘The song won’t last forever.’

Felix made some sort of excited squeaking sound – Woojin nearly died, it was so cute, literally what the fuck – as he happily took the offered hand and allowed himself to be led back to the lounge.

The room was packed pretty full, almost everyone having converged there. The two boys ended up by the infamous BooSeokSoon trio, who were notoriously loud and boisterous _without_ alcohol – right now, of course, they were all varying degrees of drunk. Seungkwan and Seokmin were currently about eight parts enthusiasm, two parts coordination, but Soonyoung, the best damn dancer in his entire year, had somehow matched his eight parts enthusiasm with an additional eight parts skill. They cheerfully greeted Woojin and Felix, the latter of whom was clearly emboldened by Soonyoung’s casual mastery of his favoured art form.

Woojin was perfectly capable of giving in to the beat of a song and losing several hours to a mindless fever of adrenaline, sweat, and flashing teeth. Presently, however, he was much more interested in watching Felix engage with Soonyoung, a challenging grin on his freckly face. The two began to _really_ dance, movements sharpening, hair flying, muscles bunching and releasing under fair skin. Seokmin and Seungkwan loudly cheered them on and Woojin quickly found himself joining in, captivated by the tightly controlled explosiveness of Felix’s dancing in the face of Soonyoung’s legendary polished elegance. It didn’t take long for others to start noticing the dance battle that’d broken out in the back of the crowd and a few heartbeats later, there was a ring of people around them, whooping and clapping and dancing along too.

The song soared towards its crescendo, gearing up for another bass drop, and the tension in the circle rose. Soonyoung’s eyes glittered with delight as he showed off his ability by neatly dipping backward till his head just about brushed the ground, before springing back up to thunderous cheers. It was Felix whom Woojin couldn’t take his eyes off of, though, the boy’s golden skin shining in the dim lighting, his smile huge. In response to Soonyoung, he twirled, crossing his ankles, and immediately bobbed down, twisted again, then flowed through a sequence of smooth-as-syrup movements that would have dislocated Woojin’s knees if he dared to mimic them. Thoroughly impressed, he whooped with the others, grinning and clapping when Felix’s bright eyes found his. Then a look Woojin couldn’t identify flashed over the boy’s face and he turned back to Soonyoung, something clearly passing quickly between them, before he started... slow dancing?

Oh. Okay no. That wasn’t slow dancing. That was _teasing_. That was body rolls and fluid, rippling movement. Soonyoung was doing similar things too, the pair of them driving the collected crowd wild, but Felix had shimmied around again and was now facing in Woojin’s general direction. Perhaps, to others, that was all this looked like but Felix’s sharp smile and heavy-lidded eyes were aimed at Woojin alone. The older boy swallowed hard as Felix’s lithe body twisted and curled.

 _This should be illegal_ , he thought, a touch desperately. _Why is this not illegal. I didn’t agree to this, goddammit_.

There was a devastating sensuality to Felix’s movements and Woojin was regretting letting Chan use his car, regretting coming out tonight, regretting everything that meant he had to stand here and witness this gorgeous foreign boy’s dancing.

Fortunately, the circle collapsed at the end of the song. Unfortunately, this marked the arrival of something heavier, something sultrier – because of course it did, Changbin was probably watching the goings on from his DJ spot and had decided that tonight was the night Woojin needed to die. Felix didn’t take his attention from Woojin, slowly winding himself closer.

When there was no one else between them, the bright-haired boy suddenly grinned cheekily at him, standing on tip toe to speak close to him in an effort to be heard as he asked cheerfully, ‘Did I impress you, hyung?’

Woojin groaned, something inside him dying as he remembered what he’d said earlier, and Felix laughed, deep and delectable. ‘Yeah,’ he replied, a sheepish smile plucking at the corners of his mouth. ‘You definitely impressed me.’

Felix’s smile relaxed, becoming more genuine. He held the Woojin’s gaze as he said, ‘I’m glad,’ with unexpected sincerity. ‘I was dancing, uh, how do you say...’ His brows twitched together in irritation, studs flashing in the light, but a moment later he had the words he was after. ‘I was dancing for you.’

Woojin’s breath caught in his throat. Did Felix realise what it sounded like when he said things like that? Did he realise that Woojin wanted watch him dance for hours, without the distraction of several dozen other people? That Woojin wanted to taste the sweat on his skin and kiss his full, soft lips ‘til they were red as cherries?

He didn’t know and, honestly, he was kind of scared to find out.

Just as he decided not to push it, not to risk spooking Felix, the freckled boy stepped in closer still, a whisper of space all that remained between their chests. Woojin just barely managed to not step back. Felix’s eyes dipped from his own to his mouth, his shoulders, his collar, back up to his mouth, and then to his eyes. He blinked once, slowly and meaningfully.

There was really no way to misinterpret that.

With a shuddery exhale, Woojin murmured, ‘What are you doing, Felix?’

The boy blinked again, his gaze questing. The pink tip of his tongue darted out to wet his lips before he replied. ‘Am I doing something wrong?’ he asked, rather than answering. ‘You’ve been staring at my mouth for hours, and since I’ve been staring at yours, I thought maybe you would like to kiss me.’

Woojin’s soul almost departed his body right then and there, but, to his distress, he survived, albeit with an abruptly very red face.

When he didn’t immediately reply, too busy scrambling for mental stability, Felix leaned back slightly. ‘Do you not want to?’ he queried, anxious doubt threading his words.

Sensing this was about to get _very_ awkward, Woojin scrambled to reply. ‘No! No, I –’ He had no idea what he was trying to say. Fantastic.

What he did know was that he was not doing this in front of an audience.

‘Come with me,’ he said, taking Felix’s small hand and gently tugging him along.

Despite his obvious puzzlement, the younger boy willingly followed him, allowing Woojin to led them from the room and down the hall and just around the corner of one of the side corridors. It was comfortably private but still close enough to other people that Woojin hoped Felix wouldn’t feel at all uncomfortable.

‘Look, hyung, if you don’t –’ the bright-haired boy began, a frown marring his features.

Woojin interrupted, squeezing Felix’s hand. ‘Hush, Felix,’ he murmured, his eyes soft as he looked at the other boy. ‘I _do_ want to kiss you, make no mistake about that. You just – surprised me.’

The frown became more of a pout, Felix’s cheeks colouring at Woojin’s words. ‘How?’ he asked, voice wavering dangerously close to a whine.

Woojin’s heart clenched and he smiled, shifting to lean back against the wall, their continued handhold keeping Felix close to him. ‘Well,’ he said, ‘given that we only met a few hours ago, I thought that _maybe_ you were just being friendly. At least, until you danced for me.’

He whistled briefly in admiration at the memory and Felix groaned, going very pink. He tried to cover his face but Woojin didn’t let go of his hand, so he had to do it with only one, which really didn’t work.

Woojin giggled. ‘Why are you so embarrassed now, hmm?’

Felix peeked up at him. ‘I don’t – don’t usually do things like that,’ he mumbled. ‘You were watching me, though, and I felt –’ he swallowed – ‘brave.’

This kid was actually going to kill him with how cute he was, but by this point Woojin really didn’t care. He’d welcome such a death with open arms. He cooed, pulling Felix closer, ‘til he was standing between the elder’s legs, his shoulders still up around his ears. Woojin reached up and gently coaxed Felix’s other hand away from his face, before pressing a light kiss to the knuckles.

It had the intended effect, the bright-haired boy’s shoulders dropping in his surprise, eyes widening and lips parted in shock.

‘Thank you for being brave,’ Woojin said, meeting warm brown eyes with his own gaze. ‘You looked... beautiful.’

Felix gulped, his blush creeping down his neck, but he didn’t shy away. ‘Really?’ he whispered.

Woojin nodded. ‘Really.’

Lashes dipped, swept back up, tentative confidence shining in his eyes. ‘Will you kiss me then?’ Felix asked shyly.

Woojin’s heart was thumping loudly as it considered making a break for his throat, but ignored it and replied, ‘If you’re sure.’

Felix inched closer until there only a hair’s breadth between them. ‘Yes,’ he said quietly, breath sugary sweet as it ghosted over Woojin’s mouth.

Without another word, Woojin released one of Felix’s hands to lightly cup his jaw. He dropped his gaze to the boy’s lips, so pink and full, and his mouth watered. Shutting his eyes, Woojin closed the distance between them. Felix’s lips were as soft as they looked and Woojin wanted to nibble at them, coax his mouth open with his tongue, but he did not. Felix had gone stiff at the first hint of contact, leading one part of Woojin to wonder how many times he’d been kissed before. So the elder boy kept the kiss gentle, carefully melting the younger ‘til he sighed against Woojin’s mouth, his body relaxing.

Woojin pulled back for just a moment, the tips of their noses brushing as he asked, slightly hoarsely, ‘You alright, Lix?’ The affectionate nickname slipped out before he could stop it.

Felix smiled softly at him, leaning forward so that he was pressed right up against Woojin, warm and solid. ‘Yes,’ he replied, voice deeper than ever before and reverberating through Woojin’s chest. ‘Can we do that again?’

The dark-haired boy almost laughed, but restrained himself. ‘Sure.’

So-saying, he ran his thumb over Felix’s freckled cheek before lightly pulling him in again, other hand shifting to the small of Felix’s back to hold him close. When Woojin pressed their lips together once more, Felix responded much more positively, eagerly moving his mouth against Woojin’s as his hands lifted to cling to the elder’s shoulders. Woojin slid his hand down from the younger’s jaw to the nape of his neck, stroking the smooth skin there soothingly. In the face of Felix’s enthusiasm, he permitted himself a careful nip at the other’s plump lower lip, immediately licking over the tiny hurt. Felix squeaked at the nip and his breath stuttered at the lick, mouth automatically falling open slightly as his heartrate abruptly picked up. Judging this to be a good reaction, if the way the younger boy was kneading at his shoulders was any indication, Woojin swiped his tongue over Felix’s lip again, felt him open his mouth a little more. Taking the hint, the elder swept inside, tasting Felix, catching an aftertaste of what he’d been drinking earlier. He stroked his tongue against Felix’s, encouraging him, and was pleased when the younger hesitantly reciprocated.

They barely broke apart for a moment to breathe before Felix brought their mouths back together, the kiss getting messier by the second, their lips slick with saliva. Emboldened, Felix cupped Woojin’s jaw with one hand, holding him steady as _he_ took the initiative and darted out his tongue to lave a kittenish lick over Woojin’s lip, silently requesting entry. More than happy to oblige, Woojin tilted his head to a slightly better angle and parted his lips. Felix’s tongue delved inside, hot and wet, roaming and tasting with more finesse than the very small part of Woojin’s mind still thinking rationally had expected. When Felix pulled back after a thorough exploration of the elder’s mouth, Woojin, entirely unable to help himself, sank his teeth into Felix’s lower lip again, sharper and stronger this time. The younger boy whimpered, a shiver rippling through both of their bodies, and Woojin’s grip on the nape of his neck automatically tightened.

 _Okay, this needs to stop before anyone gets too worked up_ , Woojin firmly informed himself, throttling the part of him that wanted to do that again, wanted to bite harder.

So, reluctantly, he leaned back enough to be able to see Felix’s kiss-swollen lips, flushed face, and closed eyes.

‘Beautiful,’ he murmured.

Hazy brown eyes cracked open, observing him from under lowered lashes. A pleased smile tugged at Felix’s mouth. He tilted his head forward, bringing their foreheads together.

‘I’m not as handsome as you, though,’ he panted, caressing the side of Woojin’s face with his thumb.

The elder linked his hands behind the younger’s back, resting them in the dip of his spine. ‘I disagree,’ he said, expression fond.

‘I disagree with your disagreement,’ Felix retorted, eyes twinkling.

Woojin simply hummed, and they lapsed into a comfortable quiet, catching their breath and observing each other with gentle eyes.

After an indefinitely long moment, Felix began, ‘So...’

Eye-smile coming out, Woojin mimicked, ‘So...’

Felix pouted, though the action was not intentional. He was also blushing again, just a bit.

‘Don’t be like that,’ he pleaded, looking up at Woojin with terrifyingly good puppy dog eyes. ‘That was really fun, but I’m – I’m nervous. I’ve never just...’

As he tailed off again, Woojin cut him some slack. ‘Made out with a near-stranger?’

The freckly boy made a distressed sound of agreement in the back of his throat, hiding his face in the crook of Woojin’s neck, his profusion of piercings cool to the touch. The elder patted his back reassuringly, grinning.

‘I don’t usually do things like this, either, and I’m glad you enjoyed it, because guess what? I’m nervous too.’

Felix’s head lifted, his eyebrows high. ‘Really?’ he asked quietly.

Woojin nodded. ‘I think you’re cute, Felix, and so pretty. You set loose hundreds of butterflies inside my stomach every time you smile at me. I want to count the freckles on your face and –’ he steeled himself – ‘take you out on a date. What do you think about that?’

Felix’s eyes widened. He actually looked like he might cry, which was somewhat alarming and absolutely not what Woojin had meant to happen.

‘I – I mean, only if –’

Before he could backtrack any further and possibly choke on his own damn foot, the younger pressed his index and middle fingers to Woojin’s mouth, gently silencing him. Felix blinked rapidly several times, dispersing the growing dampness around the edges of his eyes.

He cleared his throat, and the words only just barely wavered as he said, ‘No, it’s okay. I’d... I’d really like that, Woojin-hyung. You, ah, you surprised _me_ this time. Um...’ He dropped his gaze for a moment, looked up again through the veil of his long lashes.

Heart fluttering somewhere about the base of his throat, Woojin waited for him to continue.

‘That’s just not what – what boys want... often.’ He was looking a bit embarrassed again and squirmed slightly. ‘Do you understand?’

Oh.

Yes, Woojin understood. He felt a swell of sadness rising below his diaphragm, but forcefully pushed it down.

‘Has anyone ever asked you on a date before?’ he asked, not quite able to keep the incredulity out of his voice.

Felix’s cheeks bloomed in full colour again, and he leaned back, his hands lightly holding the front of Woojin’s shirt.

‘ _Yes_ ,’ he answered immediately, before hesitating. ‘Only girls, though.’ His nose wrinkled as he grimaced and Woojin fought the urge to coo. ‘I don’t like girls, not like _that_.’

‘Well,’ Woojin began, something very, very tender creeping under his skin, twining through his words, ‘I would be very happy, Lee Felix, if you let me take you on a date. We don’t have to kiss at all, if you don’t want. There are more important things than that. I like _you_ and I’d really like to get to know you a bit better.’

Felix’s eyes were glittering suspiciously, but his grin was wide enough to split his cheeks and he positively radiated happiness. He nodded firmly, orange hair falling forward.

‘Okay,’ he said cheerfully. ‘I accept. I’d love to go on a date with you, hyung. But you have to promise me something.’

Slightly wary of the mischievous edge to the younger’s smile, Woojin cocked a brow. ‘What’s that?’

Felix leaned in close once more, bumping the soft tip of his nose against Woojin’s. He practically thrummed with glee as he whispered, ‘You have to _promise_ to kiss me again.’

Woojin could not stop the little laugh that burst out of him and he did not try to. What had he been saying to himself about regretting everything earlier? He took it back, all of it. This was the best night he’d had in forever.

‘I promise.’

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed it~~ please lmk if you did because, as a tiny fledgling author, there is Nothing I want more for Christmas than (hopefully positive) feedback! ;v;


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